Disclaimer: No ownership of Pokémon.
Summary: The long-awaited third installment of a harem series with Ash. 12 girls love Ash, somewhat based on the "12 Days of Christmas."
Chapter Shipping: DojoShipping

The 12 Elements of Ashmas, Volume 3

One-Shot 1: Teaching Tools

The journey toward the Johto League continued for Ash and his friends as they headed to the next gym. Taking a lunch break, Ash, Misty, Brock and their Pokémon friends ate on a picnic table between cities. "How's the food?" Misty asked the Pokémon. Their joyous roars were satisfying. As the group ate, something caught Ash's eyes: a Hitmontop. To him, this was an unexpected find.

"Is that a Hitmontop?" he gawked. All turned to the Pokémon in question and so did Hitmontop who got excited and came over to the group. Usually, Pokémon are shy but not this Hitmontop.

("I can't believe it!") it barked. ("It's you guys!") Pikachu came up, interested with Hitmontop and why it's here.

("Are you Chigusa's Hitmontop?") Pikachu squeaked. Hitmontop bobbed to confirm the smaller Pokémon.

("You remember me! That's great!") The Pokémon were surprised that it was the Hitmontop that they knew.

"That Hitmontop looks familiar," Brock noticed. It didn't ring for the others right away.

"Have we met a Hitmontop before?" Ash questioned. That's when Brock remembered one possible place that would make sense.

"Maybe it's from Kenzo's dojo." The Pokémon in question chimed in agreement to Brock's suspicions. Hearing Hitmontop confirm the guess, the humans gasped in shock.

"I think if this Hitmontop is from that dojo, Chigusa's gotta be nearby!" Misty gulped. Hitmontop sounded again now to Misty's guessing. Something was off and Ash knew it right away.

"Okay then," he sighed, calming down. "Where's Chigusa? She wouldn't let Hitmontop wander off like this." Not a problem for Hitmontop as it sniffed the food on the table, not the Pokémon food the others were eating. It got Misty pondering something.

"You don't think Chigusa's hungry, do you?" Hitmontop pointed to the food and then to the valley. To Ash, Chigusa wasn't fairing well.

"I think hungry is an understatement. She's starving out there!" Quickly, he snagged a bowl of stew, put another bowl over it to keep it warm and headed out with Hitmontop leading the way. "I'll be back with her. Hang tight." They reached a young lady's body sitting by a tree asleep. Hitmontop got to the pink-haired girl and shook her awake.

("Master!") it called out. Chigusa heard the wail of her Pokémon, her face looking pale.

"Hit...mon...top?" she groaned.

("I brought Ash here!") Footsteps had her eyes shifting to Ash and the bowl as he knelt.

"What happened, Chigusa?" he asked. Taking the offering, Chigusa started eating the stew. She was rather thankful despite the weak frame she was in.

"Brock's stew..." she believed. "It's been awhile..." After finishing the bowl, some color appeared to show. "I needed that. Pushed myself a bit far training." Ash helped her on her feet. "Funny that I found you." Ash had to wonder why.

"What do you mean? And why are you away from your grandpa's dojo?" A smile from Chigusa held a secret.

"The dojo's closed while grandfather is recuperating. In the meantime, he let me step out with Hitmontop to train and be better at protecting said dojo." That's rather thoughtful of Kenzo. Ash wanted to poke some fun with Chigusa.

"Well first, you need to get some more food if you're gonna train." Good idea. Helping Chigusa, Ash reached back to the campsite which Misty and Brock helped the granddaughter over to the table. Brock supplied Chigusa with more food.

"It's a good thing Ash found you," Misty cheered. "Who knows what we would've told your grandfather." The Pokémon were just as grateful that Hitmontop's trainer would be okay. After taking in lunch, Chigusa was a new girl.

"Okay!" she chuckled. "Now with fuel in my belly, I'm ready to go. You with me, Hitmontop?" Hearing its master at full strength, Hitmontop got excited. That's when Chigusa found a problem with the Pokémon that were around. "Wait...where's Bulbasaur?" Brock answered for Ash.

"Bulbasaur's back at Prof. Oak's ranch being peacemaker with the Pokémon there," he explained. "That should explain why Ash doesn't have it."

"Well, I guess. I was hoping I'd battle it like back there."

"Why?" Misty replied. "Did you teach Hitmontop some new attacks?" The sight of Chigusa scratching her cheek was not a promising word.

"Well, not exactly. I wanted to show off a new variation to Hitmontop's combination of Rapid Spin and Triple Kick." This intrigued Ash. He'd like to see the new use of the combination.

"This I gotta see!" he expressed as he got up and faced the shihan-to-be with Pikachu. When Chigusa viewed her opponent's Pokémon, she had a different idea and spotted Bayleef.

"Say, can your Bayleef do Vine Whip like Bulbasaur?" To Ash, she wanted to see his Herb Pokémon and how it fared with her Hitmontop.

"Yeah, you want Bayleef?" A nod from Chigusa prompted Bayleef to reach the field.

("I'm ready, darling!") Bayleef roared. Chigusa made the first move without waiting for a referee.

"Hitmontop, Rolling Kicks!" Chigusa ordered. Hitmontop charged in with roundhouse kicks but Bayleef's leaf shooed them away.

"Bayleef, Vine Whip!" Ash instructed. Bayleef summoned the vines and swung them around to tag Hitmontop.

"No you don't! This won't be like last time! Hitmontop, Rapid Spin!" Hitmontop flipped upside-down and its body began spinning rapidly, as the name implied, and knocked the vines back. Ash knew it was the beginning.

"Use Vine Whip on the head!" Bayleef shot the vines back out.

"Adjust your spin!" Hitmontop's spinning legs dipped down and continued to knock the vines away, much to Ash's surprise. Speaking of, how has Hitmontop's spinning not made it sick from all those... Seeing the adjustment on the Rapid Spin, Misty recognized that move.

"That's what she used against Shiro's Hitmonlee!" she gulped. The continuously spinning Hitmontop straightened back up and Chigusa had the upper-hand.

"Okay, Hitmontop! It's Triple Kick time!" The call had Hitmontop spinning to Bayleef.

"Get ready, Bayleef!" Ash warned. Within range, Hitmontop changed the spin's angle again, a kicking version of an uppercut. "Down and right!" Bayleef lowered her head, avoiding the first shot. Hitmontop's angle switched and the spin rewound. Another rising kick flying. "Down and left! Bayleef lowered the head again, another miss. One more adjustment and this time, it was the blocking position like before. Ash smiled, knowing where this kick was going. The sweep for the legs... "Vine Whip to jump!" Obeying, Bayleef pushed up with the vines and was over Hitmontop, much to Chigusa's chagrin.

"Bayleef dodged all three?" Bayleef wasn't done.

"Body Slam!" Bayleef fell on top of Hitmontop, stopping the spin and flattening the Pokémon.

"Hitmontop!" When Bayleef hopped off, Hitmontop's eyes told the trainers that the fight was over.

"Hitmontop is unable to continue!" Brock ruled. "Bayleef wins!" Bayleef raced over and nuzzled her face on Ash's, happy for her win. Chigusa fell to her knees in defeat after reaching Hitmontop.

"I'm sorry, Hitmontop..." she apologized. She did offer a good battle and Ash would let Chigusa know about it.

"Hitmontop's gotten stronger than last time," he complimented. "Not to mention the way you adjusted Hitmontop's spin. You're well on your way to becoming a shihan in no time." The nice comment gave Chigusa a reason to smile.

"Thanks. Say, is it alright if I stay with you for the night? I'd like to get more work with Ash on his training." No one minded. They believed she would learn from Ash on more training.

"Sure!" Brock accepted. "We don't mind."

"Thanks!" With that, Ash and Chigusa returned to the clearing where Ash showed off some of his other Pokémon and abilities that had more than just the attack like how Bayleef used her Vine Whip to jump. Night fell and everyone was exhausted. The journey to the next gym will wait until morning. Chigusa got up and shook Ash awake.

"Chi...gusa?" he weakly murmured.

"Sorry to wake you up at this time of the night but I'm worried." The nervous tone from Chigusa had Ash sitting up, her knee pads touching his sleeping bag. "Grandpa's not getting any younger, less spry to more challengers for our plaques like Shiro. I know that one day, I'll take over whether by him retiring or passing away. I just...don't feel ready to take over." He could tell. A job of a shihan was a tall order. "I guess it came after you beat me. You and grandfather pointed out how much I needed to learn if I was to be shihan." A full confession that even Ash wanted her to calm down about.

"Relax!" Hearing Ash, Chigusa stopped the whining. "You'll be fine. You're just worried about losing a plaque or two to other trainers. It's like gym leaders. When one loses his/her match with the challenger, it's just a piece of hardware to give out." Chigusa felt that she was letting her feelings get the better of her. She felt at ease a little.

"I'm...I'm sorry. After you beat me, I lost a lot of confidence and you helped me rebound." She glanced to the stars in the sky. "I hate to say it but grandfather's right. You'd be a much better shihan that I would." Again with the doubting?

"I may have an idea on getting you some confidence." He got up and found a flat surface. Chigusa followed. "I believe to adapt to a Fighting Pokémon, you've gotta learn to fight yourself." Interesting way to work on confidence. However, it intrigued Chigusa to try something to be at peace.

"Hey, great idea...if you can keep up." Both took fighting stances. Who needs Pokémon when fisticuffs are the answer? Wait...forget it. Ash raced in with fists flying but Chigusa deflected the attacks away and launched a spinning karate chop. Ash ducked under and threw an uppercut but Chigusa ducked herself. She snagged Ash and tripped him, both falling to the turf. Pinned, Ash struggled to free, his hands held at the wrists by her. "So, whatcha gonna do?" Ash was in a bind, literally. Suddenly, an errand kick knocked Chigusa off-balance to where she fell onto him...and heads meet. Both stopped moving and wondered what that was all about. Their eyes gazed in each other and their lips hugged one another as well. In a snap, Chigusa hopped off, spooked at what just occurred. "I-I'm sorry! I d-didn't- I mean-" It's just a kiss. It was also accidental, no need to get worked up about.

"That was new." The kiss. "I mean- We're friends, right?" It may be more than that after that.

"Y-Yeah." The quick experience made both bleed red in the cheeks. "Am I... Can I be loved and, uh...still work the dojo?" A sudden gulp from Ash wondered if her discovered affection was aimed at him.

"Can I say I don't know? It was just sudden." Chigusa wanted to make sure and laid a bigger one to make sure. Ash felt his lungs deflate from the suffocation of Chigusa's kiss. They both drift to sleep with Chigusa remaining on top. The next morning, Misty, Brock and the Pokémon woke to see Chigusa getting a little hands-on with Ash.

"Just like that!" Ash and Chigusa stood side by side in a karate stance with Hitmontop. "Now, swing across, spin and kick!" Following instructions, Ash and Hitmontop swung their arms, the flattened hands cutting the open air before leaping off their plant legs and swinging a roundhouse kick, a full rotation as they landed the same way they jumped. Happy, Ash and Hitmontop exchanged a high-five.

"Looks like Chigusa's got her fighting spirit," Brock laughed. It was a wonderful sight, even to Pikachu and Togepi. That's when Chigusa brought out a ball.

"Let's see how far your kick goes. Ready?" A nod from Ash allowed Chigusa to release it. Performing the roundhouse kick, Ash timed the rotation perfectly. The kick propelled the ball passed Chigusa at high velocity that the air pressure pushed her hair in...and a loud thud got the attention of the group. As the ball returned, Team Rocket fell from a branch of a tree they were on. Jessie, James and Meowth hit the dirt hard and were knocked out from the impact.

"Nice...shot..." muttered James, stars in his unconscious eyes. What a way to take out Team Rocket before they could do their annoying intro, let alone execute another of their overprice gadgets on them.

"What a way to kickoff the morning," Misty punned. It was so bad, even her baby Pokémon didn't like it.

("Mama said bad joke...") it squeaked sadly. You know when those younger than you think it's bad, it's time to be quiet about it.

"Misty, that's something Ash would say," Brock pointed to the joke. "Not you." Realizing the size of her poor poke of fun, Misty sighed.

"Still, I'm not sure what's better," Ash pondered. "Stopping Team Rocket before they launched a plan to get our Pokémon or not hearing their motto?" To Chigusa, neither.

"Nah, I know what's better than that," she hinted before hugging Ash. Seeing this move, Misty and Brock were shocked with Chigusa's sudden act. They were also upset.

"What do you think you're doing?!" they snapped. Chigusa hid behind an oblivious Ash, thinking that she enticed him in some fashion.

"Hey, back off!" Ash snapped. "Why are you mad at Chigusa?!" Misty and Brock wanted to vent but felt that it wouldn't prove their cause.

"It's...Never mind!" Misty shouted before walking off without her Togepi.

"Misty, wait!" Brock called out before chasing her. Chigusa had a theory at what just happened.

"I think Misty has a crush on you," she guessed. "But I think she's too shy to admit it." Sucks for her. At least the fighting spirit has grown in Chigusa...and in Ash as well.

END of FIGHTING
(You brought this on yourselves for me to do it. It wasn't because I didn't want to do it, I felt that we didn't have enough girls to fit this and perhaps when more XY episodes come out, there may be more opportunities for more pairings. Speaking of, what element should I do next?)